These Keto Locos Tacos are an awesome take on a fast food favorite, or just a great keto-friendly way to make tacos a regular occurrence in your house. Can you say “Taco Tuesday!”? I like to make these shells with a variety of cheeses sometimes, and sometimes I just use what’s on hand. In the video I make them with Pepper Jack Cheese, which is my personal favorite for this recipe. If you don’t like Pepper Jack, or think that it might be too spicy you can use Monterey Jack Cheese instead, or even Cheddar.
One kitchen contraption that will make the shaping and standing of these shells a little easier are some Taco Racks. I picked mine up on Amazon, because I could not find them in and local stores in my area. There are probably a lot of other ways you could think of to help the cheese shape itself into a taco shell, but just be careful. The Taco Racks have a somewhat limited utility outside of making this dish, though I guess they are also used for preventing your tacos from tipping over and spilling the insides all over the plate.
One major bit of advice I will give you for making these Keto Locos Tacos is to make sure that you use Parchment Paper when melting the cheese in the oven. You do NOT want to use Wax Paper, Aluminum Foil, or even a non-stick baking dish, etc. Parchment Paper works, the cheese doesn’t stick to it, and you shouldn’t, have any kitchen disasters with a bunch of wasted cheese. I learned on my Keto Chicken Enchilada Recipe that many people ignored that advice and I got all kinds of pictures of cheese stuck to all sorts of creative surfaces that were not parchment paper.
KETO LOCOS TACOS RECIPE
Ease of Preparation: Easy
Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cooking Time: 20 Minutes
Total Time: 40 Minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 Pound Grass-Fed Beef
- 12 ounces Pepper Jack Cheese
- 1/2 Medium White Onion
- 2-3 Roma Tomatoes
- 1 Bunch Cilantro
- 3 Tablespoons Cumin
- 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
- 1 Tablespoon Paprika
- 1/2 Tablespoon Granulated Garlic
- 1/2 Tablespoon Onion Powder
- Salt & Pepper (Optional)
- Sour Cream (Optional)
- Hot Sauce (Optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat the Oven to 350*F.
- Shred your block of preferred cheese. I prefer Pepper Jack, but I have had great success using Cheddar, Monterey Jack, and other cheeses too.
- Place about 2 ounces of shredded cheese onto each piece of parchment paper, on a large baking sheet.
- Bake the cheese in the oven initially for about 8 to 10 minutes. You will want to cook the cheese long enough for it to bubble, and for the outer edge of the cheese to start to get crispy. I recommend removing them from the oven around this time so that you can place them onto a taco rack, or something similar that will allow you to place them back into the oven to finish baking for a few minutes to crisp up even more into the shape of a taco shell.
- You will want to remove the cheese shells from the oven and allow to cool a little while before serving so that you can hold them with your hands.
- While the cheese shells are cooking, prep your toppings that you want to put on your taco, and get your beef or other meat of choice cooking on the stove too.
- To make my own Taco Seasoning I combine 3 Tablespoons Cumin, 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder, 1 Tablespoon Paprika, 1/2 Tablespoon Granulated Garlic, and 1/2 Tablespoon Onion Powder or Granulated Onion. I will also add some salt during cooking usually too.
- Brown the Grass-fed Beef over Medium High Heat and season with the Keto Taco Seasoning mixed above. Be sure to use a utensil to chop teh meat up even further into finely ground beef.
- When all the ingredients are ready plate your taco shells and fill with the meat and toppings. I will also often add some sour cream and hot sauce to the top.
SPECIAL NOTE: You can also use this cheese shell technique and place them over small bowls instead of on Taco Racks to make Keto Taco Salad Shells! You can also use more or less seasoning, or switch out the seasoning that I use for whatever you prefer to season your taco meat with. Just be sure to check to make sure that your taco seasoning does not have things like Dextrose or Maltodextrin in the ingredient list if you use something from off the shelf at the grocery store.
Keto Locos Tacos Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound Grass-Fed Ground Beef
- 12 ounces Pepper Jack Cheese Shredded
- 0.5 medium White Onion Diced
- 2 whole Roma Tomatoes Diced
- 1 bunch Cilantro De-stemmed
- 3 tbsp Cumin
- 2 tbsp Chili Powder
- 1 tbsp Paprika
- 0.5 tbsp Granulated Garlic
- 0.5 tbsp Onion Powder
Optional Ingredients
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Sour Cream
- Hot Sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the Oven to 350*F.
- Shred your block of preferred cheese. I prefer Pepper Jack, but I have had great success using Cheddar, Monterey Jack, and other cheeses too.
- Place about 2 ounces of shredded cheese onto each piece of parchment paper, on a large baking sheet.
- Bake the cheese in the oven initially for about 8 to 10 minutes. You will want to cook the cheese long enough for it to bubble, and for the outer edge of the cheese to start to get crispy. I recommend removing them from the oven around this time so that you can place them onto a taco rack, or something similar that will allow you to place them back into the oven to finish baking for a few minutes to crisp up even more into the shape of a taco shell.
- You will want to remove the cheese shells from the oven and allow to cool a little while before serving so that you can hold them with your hands.
- While the cheese shells are cooking, prep your toppings that you want to put on your taco, and get your beef or other meat of choice cooking on the stove too.
- To make my own Taco Seasoning I combine 3 Tablespoons Cumin, 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder, 1 Tablespoon Paprika, 1/2 Tablespoon Granulated Garlic, and 1/2 Tablespoon Onion Powder or Granulated Onion. I will also add some salt during cooking usually too.
- Brown the Grass-fed Beef over Medium High Heat and season with the Keto Taco Seasoning mixed above. Be sure to use a utensil to chop teh meat up even further into finely ground beef.
- When all the ingredients are ready plate your taco shells and fill with the meat and toppings. I will also often add some sour cream and hot sauce to the top.
Any idea what the net carbs are on these!? They are on the menu tomorrow!!
It will pretty much depend on what you top them with. The Pepper Jack Cheese has no carbs, and neither does the beef. There is a small amount of carbs in the seasoning, should you choose to use the same kind of seasoning. Beyond that, I was factoring in the carbs from the Onion and Tomatoes, etc that I always top my tacos with.
I am not sure the relevance of net carbs when each 2 oz cheese shell has over 200 calories in it. Overeating is overeating and there is easily 1,000 calories sitting on that plate with those three tacos.
Tom, calories still count for sure. Not everyone who eats Keto eats three meals per day either, and not all meals are equally rich in calories. Things like Calories and Fat and other Macros are like building blocks to help you round out your complete day. Choose to use them when and how you want to meet you goals.
I used parchment paper to make the taco shells but still could not pull the parchment paper off. Any suggestions
That is really strange. I never have cheese stick to parchment paper. Just to make sure, you didn’t use Wax Paper, right? I know some people have gotten wax paper confused with parchment paper, and cheese sticks very easily to wax paper.
After reading Tom’s comment I put the basic taco recipe into a recipe builder. I got the following….
Ingredients Calories Carbs Fat Protein Sodium Sugar Grass Fed. Hamburger – Beef, 1 lb(s) 800 0 32 92 0 0 Ico_delete Shredded Cheese – Pepper Jack, 12 fluid ounce 660 6 54 42 1,080 0 Ico_delete Add Ingredient Total: 1,460 6 86 134 1,080 0 Per Serving: 243 1 14 22 180 0
I think like every other diet or lifestyle change it has to fit your needs. People have different health needs and should consult a physician and adhere to that.
Wow Tom. A bit judgey aren’t we?
If you are in Ketosis you are burning fat for fuel and not carbs. Most of the calories are fat and will be burned first. That is why, if you are on a keto diet, it is not just calories, it is where the calories come from.
Tom, Calories in and calories out is a myth. We have all been lied to.
Tom, I only eat ONE actual “meal” per day. The rest of my calories come from low/no carb “fuelings” throughout the day, so my main focus is on carbs, not calories.
Actually, Tom, if you’re exercising, you will need at least 1500 calories per day, and depending on how strenuous, more. I’m only 5ft tall, and without exercise, my body requires 1200 cal/day. I consistently stay below my daily calorie and carb goal, and could easily integrate these. However, feel free to only eat one… Or…. Exercise your right not to eat any.
Thank you, Kelly for the great idea.
I’m making these now! They smell so good!
Can you please update this recipe with the Nutrition Facts? Really curious to see how many total calories and grams of fat per taco.
Thank you kindly.
Nutritional information about your recipes would be very helpful as I count calories too. TIA. Joni
You can use Reynolds’s Foil, but look for their NON-STICK version. I think the box has yellow on it, not just the blue. It worked very well for the chicken enchiladas!
I can’t eat anything from spicy like pepper jack cheese. Is there anything diff cheese I can make?
Yes, you can also use a Medium or Sharp Cheddar cheese if you prefer that.
what is the point of these, compared to an actual taco shell these are loaded in fat and cholesterol….
The Keto way of eating is intentionally high in fat (and often cholesterol too).
Duh.
Hi,
I noticed in the video that you separated the tomato did you throw out the part of the tomato or did you add it back in , and if so can you tell me why?
Wilma, I throw out the tomato guts when I make this. It’s just my preference for texture and flavor.
Are you trying to avoid lectins?
I noticed the recipe called for “grass fed beef”. The beef should be grass finished to ensure that grain was not fed . Check this out…https://blog.kettleandfire.com/grass-fed-beef
tried these for the first time tonight. made it a bit large so just folded like a burrito , it was fabulous!
How many fat grams and protein grams are in each taco?
I fold these over a cookie sheet that I turned sideways. It makes the perfect shell.
These were really tasty, but the cheese shells were so greasy……..any way to make the cheese shells less greasy?
Some people hang them upside down on a wire rack to let them drip off.
can you use lofat cheese>
No, that would not be a good idea for this recipe.
I used shredded sharp cheddar cheese for the shells. However, I did not put them on parchment, I used a silicon baking sheet. What a mess. The cheese melted into one cheese sheet and was really greasy. I’ll try again with the parchment and see if there’s a difference.
Monica, I like the cookie sheet idea.
Can you make the cheese shells ahead of time? And if so, how would you store them and for how long will they keep? Thanks for any feedback.
Hi Wayne, I don’t think the cheese shells would turn out very good if you made them ahead of time.
Looks amazing and can’t wait to do this! How many tacos will it yield? Looked like 6
Are we supposed to use all of the seasoning mix for the 1 lb of beef! I did. And it seemed spicy and dry. Like maybe it needed some water or something.